April 18, 2012

COLORADO CITY â€” The Coahoma Bulldogettes had one thing on their minds Tuesday â€” avenge their only District 3-2A loss to the Colorado City Lady Wolves and take sole possession of first place in the highly competitive region.

Unfortunately, that plan was dashed with a 7-3 loss which forced a three-way tie between Coahoma, Colorado City and Forsan.

What started off as a defensive dual between the two juggernauts quickly turned towards Colorado City's favor when in the bottom of the second inning, Savanna Neff dropped a two-out, strike three pitch in the dirt to advance the batter to first.

The fumble would come back to haunt the Bulldogettes.

The error was the first of three on the inning, and with the help of a two-run triple, Colorado City took a 5-0 lead. None of the runs were earned for starting pitcher Kyla Clanton, who struck out three during the complete game loss.
Coahoma answered back in the top of the third when Tobi Robinson drew a walk. Clanton then belted a RBI double, putting the Bulldogettes on the board. Laurel Nix then took a base on balls and with one out, Jennifer Castilaw made contact to drive Clanton home, making it a 5-2 game.

Down by three runs in the top of the fourth, Coahoma couldn't take advantage of its runners in scoring position. Clanton went down on strikes to leave the bases loaded for the first of two times during the outing.
Colorado City tacked on some insurance runs in the bottom of the fifth with the help of two additional Coahoma errors. A two-run single hit in the center field gap put the Lady Wolves ahead 7-2.

Desperately needing to manufacture some runs, Coahoma's Minnie Goodblanket led off the top of the sixth with a double. Goodblanket stole third base and Jordan Matthews delivered with a base hit to bring Goodblanket home, cutting Colorado City's lead to four.

A strikeout and a caught pop-fly ended the inning â€” and essentially the game â€” for a disappointed Coahoma squad who couldn't produce any runs in the top of the seventh.

The loss ensured an interesting district scenario to be played out.

Coahoma swept both games of the season from rival Forsan. Forsan defeated Colorado City twice and after last night, Colorado City swept Coahoma. All teams hold a 9-2 district record.

The three teams have also secured playoff spots. Where it gets tricky, is how the three teams will be seeded. The two choices as per district rules are a coin flip â€” but all three coaches must agree to the option â€” or a mini-tournament, where a playoff between the three teams will determine the seeding.

If the latter is chosen, a coin flip would determine who gets a first-round bye in the playoff.